This invention relates to a gun tube support assembly, a cradle for carrying a gun tube including a gun tube support assembly, and a gun provided with a gun tube support assembly.
A conventional gun tube support assembly for a gun such as a cannon or the like comprises a single solid metal cradle bush or a plurality of solid metal cradle bushes arranged annularly around a gun tube of the gun. The annularly arranged cradle bushes receive and support the gun tube and the gun tube slides therein when the gun is fired.
A first disadvantage of the conventional gun tube support assembly is that when the gun is fired, kinetic energy is transferred from a projectile passing through the gun tube to the cannon structure via the solid cradle bushes to cause metal fatigue and a decrease in the lifespan of the gun.
Further disadvantages of the conventional gun tube support assembly are that the solid metal cradle bushes retains expansion and vibration of the gun tube and thus restrains the projectile when passing through the gun tube and causes excessive structural strains in the projectile, thus having a negative effect on internal and external ballistics. The projectile is further less reliable owing to the vibrations restraining it while passing through the gun tube.